uestions concerning reality have plagued human consciousness since the dawn of our existence.Philosophical and scientific researchers toy with questions such as 'what is real?' in a variety of ontological and epistemological manners, using a broad array of methods.Such questions, of course, only give rise to subsequent questions pertaining to the reality of consciousness itself.Is consciousness a product of the human body (ie, the brain), or is it perhaps a deeper, even spiritual, matter?
uestions concerning reality have plagued human consciousness since the dawn of our existence.Philosophical and scientific researchers toy with questions such as 'what is real?' in a variety of ontological and epistemological manners, using a broad array of methods.Such questions, of course, only give rise to subsequent questions pertaining to the reality of consciousness itself.Is consciousness a product of the human body (ie, the brain), or is it perhaps a deeper, even spiritual, matter?
Finally, the human mindHuman mind faces its own nature. By extending the information-theoretic paradigmParadigminformation-theoretic and participatory, the informational nature of consciousness is uncovered. This gives rise to the very first formal description of consciousness. In attempts to bridge the chasm between the objective and subjective, scientists and philosophers have opened up to the unspeakable. The nature of consciousness, as has been suggested by ancient Eastern and shamanic traditionsShamanic traditions, is necessarily universal and primal. The notion of spirituality is creeping back into science. Moving towards a more empirical analysis, the enigma of intelligence is discussed, arising in decentralized systems and even in inanimate structures. Then, the surprising therapeutic effects of psychedelicsPsychedelics is discovered, next to a myriad of transcendentalTranscendental planes of being, accessible to pure consciousness. Moreover, peer-reviewedPeer-review studies are appearing in the physics literature describing mind-matter interactions in double-slit quantum experiments—a long suspected connection by many pioneers of quantum mechanicsQuantum mechanics. As the cracks in the current edifice of science continually grow, the new information-theoreticInformation-theoretic paradigm is embraced. Beginning with an information ontology, a radicalParticipatory ontology participatory ontologyOntologyparticipatory is hinted at. In essence, the human mindHuman mind is witnessing the most radical paradigm shiftParadigm shift in its own history. The well-served and previously glorious materialistic and reductionistic scientific worldviewWorldviewmaterialistic and reductionistic scientific is yielding to a novel scientific conception of subjective consciousness and objective realityObjective reality—and their unexpected intimate kinship. Level of mathematical formality: low.
Introduction We saw in Part I that in addition to explaining consciousness there is another hard problem for the modern scientific worldview – understanding what quantum physics is telling us about reality. And if anything this one is harder. In philosophy of mind there is at least consensus enough for an orthodox position to exist (materialism), and a widespread expectation that it will be vindicated by future neuroscience. By contrast, in philosophy of physics all sides understand that quantum theory is compatible with a variety of metaphysical interpretations, and have little hope that new empirical discoveries will settle the matter. But both problems are “hard” in the sense that, despite tremendous intellectual effort over many decades, no clear progress has been made toward solving them. The basic idea of quantum consciousness theory is that bringing the two problems into contact may be the key to solving both (though I will be addressing only the mind–body problem in what follows). That this could be a novel idea attests to the fact that their philosophical discussions have evolved quite separately. While philosophers of physics have long been interested in the role of consciousness in the measurement process, they have engaged little with the mind–body problem per se; and philosophers of mind have been almost unanimous in dismissing the suggestion that consciousness has anything interesting to do with quantum physics. Social scientists might echo such skepticism, wondering how adding the problem of interpreting quantum theory to the problem of consciousness will help them . Besides piling up jargon and arcane debates, in moving to the sub-atomic level we are now even farther removed from the human world, and seemingly poised to engage in the most vulgar reductionism. Yet, naïvely one might expect the two problems to be related, for two reasons. The first is the intriguing analogies mentioned in Chapter 1 between the mental and quantum domains.
What is real and how does the world function? Humanity has been fascinated by this subject from the beginning of time. The prevalent worldview has needed to be regularly revised since the 16th century, but with the introduction of relativity theory and quantum physics at the start of the 20th century, things became really odd. The function of information is currently the main emphasis, and there is disagreement about whether this is ontological or epistemological. Recently, a hypothesis has been developed according to which microscopic quantum information-more precisely, quantum entanglement via entanglement entropy-is the source of spacetime and gravity. A contemporary idea uses algorithmic information theory and first-person viewpoint experiences to explain how reality itself emerges. Perception and observation are key concepts in quantum physics. Information must be shared in order to see and interact with the world. Information is provided the interpretation required to enable life and consciousness by biological projection.
The hard problem in consciousness is the problem of understanding how physical processes in the brain could give rise to subjective conscious experience. In this paper, I suggest that in order to understand the relationship between consciousness and the physical world, we need to probe deeply into the nature of physical reality. This leads us to quantum physics and to a second explanatory gap: that between quantum and classical reality. I will seek a philosophical framework that can address these two gaps simultaneously. Our analysis of quantum mechanics will naturally lead us to the notion of a hidden reality and to the postulate that consciousness is an integral component of this reality. The framework proposed in the paper provides the philosophical underpinnings for a theory of consciousness while satisfactorily resolving the interpretation problem in quantum mechanics without the need to alter its mathematical structure. I also discuss some implications for a scientific theory of consciousness.
The Ben-Yehudah Framework on the Nature of Reality: Consciousness, Observation, and the Architecture of Existence Author: Yeshayahu Ben-Yehudah Affiliation: THE BEN-YEHUDAH INSTITUTE Original Publication Date: June 25, 2026 This interdisciplinary scientific and philosophical research paper introduces the Ben-Yehudah Framework on the Nature of Reality, a theoretical model examining the foundational relationship between consciousness, observation, perception, and the underlying architecture of existence. The research challenges conventional philosophical materialism by proposing that consciousness is not merely an emergent byproduct of physical matter but may represent the primary field through which observable reality, information, energy, and material existence become possible. Drawing upon classical philosophy, modern philosophical inquiry, quantum physics, and contemporary consciousness studies, the paper examines the contributions of Plato, Aristotle, René Descartes, and Immanuel Kant to understanding reality, perception, causality, and the relationship between the observer and the observed. Central to the framework is the proposition that physical reality represents the measurable expression of deeper informational and energetic structures. The research introduces a proposed hierarchical architecture of existence: Source / Ultimate Reality → Consciousness → Information → Energy → Matter The paper further investigates the quantum measurement problem, the observer effect, and the unresolved question of whether consciousness plays a fundamental role in the manifestation of observable physical states. An additional component of the framework distinguishes ego-based perception from higher-order awareness. It examines how psychological conditioning, attachment, fragmented thinking, and identification with form may introduce distortions into human observation, while stillness, awareness, and disciplined observation may contribute to greater perceptual clarity. The research integrates ontology, epistemology, quantum foundations, philosophy of mind, and consciousness studies to establish an interdisciplinary foundation for further investigation into the relationship between consciousness and physical reality. The proposed framework is theoretical and philosophical in nature. Its central propositions concerning consciousness as a foundational field and its relationship to physical manifestation remain subjects for future empirical investigation rather than established scientific conclusions. At the center of this inquiry remains the fundamental question: Who—or what—is the observer behind the eyes?
This essay highlights the scientific vision of John Archibald Wheeler, a giant of 20th century physics. His ideas provided the important insight that humanity may be in the very center of disclosure and manifestation of the evolution of our universe. This on the basis of scientific reasoning derived from quantum physics rather than simple anthropocentrism or scale chauvinism. Wheeler, the Joseph Henry Professor of Physics Emeritus at Princeton University, became 96. Over a long, productive scientific life, he was known for his drive to address big, overarching questions in physics, subjects which he liked to say merged with philosophical questions about the origin of matter, information and the universe. His interests ranged far and wide and were characterized by true fearlessness. Wheeler's work was not only in gravity and nuclear physics. In the 1950s Wheeler grew increasingly intrigued by the philosophical implications of quantum physics. According to Wheeler, there was no universe until the rise of consciousness to perceive it. In fact, Wheeler was one of the first prominent physicists seriously to propose that reality might not be a wholly physical phenomenon. In some sense, Wheeler suggested, reality grows out of the act of observation, and thus consciousness itself: it is participatory. He also stated that information is the most fundamental building block of reality, and that the universe should be seen as a self-synthesized information system: a self-excited circuit that is developing through a (closed loop) cycle. His cosmic variant of the delayed choice experiment led to the idea that human observers may not only determine the present, but also may influence the past. According to Wheeler, ultimate mutability is the central feature of physics, and the meaning of reality can only be established if there is a universal knowledge field, that transcend physical past, present and future.